I agree, anything to get the voltage up at the pump. The 50m run from the panels to the pump is the killer..imo Moving the panels closer to the pump would also help.

The part I don't understand is that according to the OP, on the initial filling of the storage tank everything was fine. All I can figure is that the system was running on the edge initially and that the water in the discharge line provided enough head that the pump failed to start under load.

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> The part I don't understand is that according to the OP, on the initial filling of the storage tank everything was fine. All I can figure is that the system was running on the edge initially and that the water in the discharge line provided enough head that the pump failed to start under load.

The problem could be compounded by changes from initial conditions. The pump may have been damaged to some degree by the big suction head OP mentioned, for example.

If as the OP stated, the pump initially worked, now it won't, may indicate a problem with the motor, I would be inclined to remove the belt and verify it runs without load, a carbon fouled commutator may well be the source of the low torque no run situation.

Hi Guys,Thanks for all the posts and help. To clarify- Batteries are for testing- 16mm^2 should endure the voltage drop on line is minimum on 50m from panels- the pump can only achieve 50psi- there is no pressure tank. Pressure tank cutoff was there by coincidence- The first run was with no pressure in the surge tank.

Things to try:- move LCB closer to tank- open up Piston area to see if anything is causing extra friction

I've yet to hear any comment back from Dankoff. unfortunatly their customer support seems pretty lousy.Thanks for all the ideas. Though, I think the LCB is the last thing to try here.

Good to hear you are making some progress, keep the brushes and commutator clean, with brake clean spray, if you can obtain it, washes away the carbon residue, alchol can be used as a substitute, use fine grit sandpaper to dress the commutator once in a while is also a good practice. Good luck.

1) I did not read all the posts because a rattlesnake bit my dog yesterday and I lost my keys....so distracted.

2) I have worked with water pumps for decades. Even the biggest do not push pockets of air. You must replace all of the air in the lines with water. Have saved many situations including my father almost going from 800' to 1200' and replacing his well pump....due to air in the line. The experienced well pump guys had no idea. They were ready to go deeper and replace the pump.

This is likely a problem that costs various people hundreds of billions every year. Then again....I did not read all the posts.

Hi Guys,It looks like the brushes were the problem, the pump can reach over 75 PSI now.

One other problem I'm having is that the foot-valve on the intake is loosing water over night when the pump isn't running. Which results in the pump needing to be primed every morning. Any idea's on how to solve this? Smaller intake hose?

Glad you got it running. Seems a bit strange the brushes wore out so quickly. Keep the foot valve at least 1/3 meter off the bottom and install a new quality (brass) foot valve for a start. Some people come up with all types of screens to protect the intake for gathering garbage.Another way would be to put in a check valve or a ball valve at the pump intake which should work, but then someone has to open the ball valve each time the pump is turned on. Either way you need to keep the intake up off the bottom of your water source.

A secondary check value close to the intake would act as double insurance, however there is no guarantee that leak back would not occur, even the smallest piece of debris could result in loss of head, or air ingestion, a strainer made from mosquito net at the foot valve would prevent larger particles form being ingested, which may help. Just some thoughts